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Violet Macarons With Violet And Vanilla Bean Buttercream

March 20, 2009

I know, in my last post I asked you what my mom should make as an upcoming guest blogger, ratatouille or apple tart and here I am giving you macarons! Remember discombobulated? We did make the ratatouille, ... and ate it so it will have to wait for a redo. There is actual logic behind posting these delicious, Spring colored macarons filled with violet and vanilla bean buttercream and topped with crushed violet pearl sugar. I thought about using my cherry blossom extract but could not locate the bottle on time (I guess that's why they call it Spring cleaning, ugh?!)

Today is the official first day of Spring. Yeah! Aren't you just loving this lighter feeling in the air? Blooms are everywhere to be seen and I keep bokmarking a ton on my Flickr favorites. I am addicted! People seem to slowly shred their winter attitude. Smiles and random acts of kindness are more frequent. I am trying to savor each day this Spring. It won't be long before we melt under the scorching heat and humidity as Summer seems to start way too soon around our parts.

It is also Macaron Day in France. Yeah! Four years ago renowned pastry chef Pierre Herme collaborated with other pastry chefs in Paris to create Le Jour Du Macaron to raise money for charity. All you have to do is hop into one of the participating locations in France and other European countries to receive 4 free macarons and leave a donation in a charity designated box. I say that chosing the first day of Spring and its blooming promises was a brilliant idea. If you have access to free macarons and do a good deed at the same time, I say "Run to it!".

And it is my brother's birthday. Yeah! Ok, I knew this last one would not move you as much as the other two but I have to tell him outloud "Joyeux Aniversaire Arnaud!". Last year I virtually gave him fun Swirly Macarons. This year, I went for a more subtle and Springy feel thinking about his adorable daughters and their love for all things pink or purple. Because he lives in the violet city of Toulouse, I found it fitting to use the violet pearl sugar they sent me both outside and inside the macarons.

I admit that anything strong with the scent of violet leaves me a little lightheaded or with that brain freeze feeling right between the eyes. However the crushed violet sugar was just enough to boost up the flavor of the shells which I had left plain, except for the natural almond flavor. For the violet buttercream, I melted some of the sugar in a tablespoon of water, let it cool and added it to half the buttercream (with a touch of violet coloring) and added vanilla bean seeds to the other half. For once, that was the extent of my kitchen experimenting madness! One reader kindly left a comment with this link if you are interested in getting candied violet petals.

For the whites: the day before (24hrs), separate your eggs and store the whites at room temperature in a covered container. If you want to use 48hrs (or more) egg whites, you can store them in the fridge.In a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, whip the egg whites to a foam, gradually add the sugar until you obtain a glossy meringue. Do not overbeat your meringue or it will be too dry. Combine the almonds and powdered sugar in a food processor and give them a good pulse until the nuts are finely ground. Add them to the meringue, give it a quick fold to break some of the air and then fold the mass carefully until you obtain a batter that flows like lava or a thick ribbon. Give quick strokes at first to break the mass and slow down. The whole process should not take more than 50 strokes. Test a small amount on a plate: if the tops flattens on its own you are good to go. If there is a small beak, give the batter a couple of turns.Fill a pastry bag fitted with a plain tip (Ateco #807 or #809) with the batter and pipe small rounds (1.5 inches in diameter) onto parchment paper or silicone mats lined baking sheets. Sprinkle with the crushed sugar or violet petals. Preheat the oven to 280F. Let the macarons sit out for 30 minutes to an hour to harden their shells a bit and bake for 15 to 20 minutes, depending on their size. Let cool. If you have trouble removing the shells, pour a couple of drops of water under the parchment paper while the sheet is still a bit warm and the macarons will lift up more easily do to the moisture. Don't let them sit there in it too long or they will become soggy. Once baked and if you are not using them right away, store them in an airtight container out of the fridge for a couple of days or in the freezer. To fill: pipe or spoon about 1 big tablespoon of butterceam in the center of one shell and top with another one.

Put the sugar and egg whites in a large heatproof bowl over a saucepan of simmering water and whisk constantly, keeping the mixture over the heat, until it feels hot to the touch, about 3 minutes. The sugar should be dissolved, and the mixture will look like marshmallow cream. Pour the mixture into the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment and beat the meringue on medium speed until it cools and forms a thick shiny meringue, about 5 minutes. Switch to the paddle attachment and add the butter, one tablespoon at a time, beating until smooth. Once all the butter is in, beat in the buttercream on medium-high speed until it is thick and very smooth, 6-10 minutes. Divided the buttercream in two portions.For the violet buttercream: microwave the violet sugar and water for 30 to 45 seconds. Let cool completely before folding it into the buttercream. If using liqueur, just fold it in the buttercream.For the vanilla buttercream: add the seeds from the vanilla bean to the buttercream and fold with a spatula until fully incorporated. If not using right away, refrigerate for up to a week or freeze for up to 1 month.

I think you must have read my mind as I have been thinking about macarons. These look absolutely too gorgeous to eat, love the sprinkles on top and the lovely pastel colors. As usual I am in awe of the photos.

so lovely. but I'm honest. i've no idea how they taste. i only know violet pastilles. don't know if they are known world wide. i wouldn't even know where to get all this violet stuff. but i'll keepp my eyes open...

Very pretty and the perfect way to welcome in spring! I have been considering trying to do a violet-vanilla bean macaron pairing since before learning to make macarons! I'm going to make some today for sure, but they won't be violet, unfortunately.

ThinkingMama: For the shells themselves, I prefer powder over liquid coloring. It can be found online very easily. If you wish to use liquid coloring, just add a couple of drops to your sugar and nuts mixture, rubb it in with your fingertips and let the mixture air dry for an hour or so. It will work much like powder coloring.Hope it helps.

FUN spending time cooking with your mother! How VERY sad that I will not have a macaron on Macaron Day... I simply MUST find a place nearby that makes them... or I might have to break down and bake... goodness knows I have plenty of recipes for them via wonderful YOU!Happy Birthday to your brother!ENJOY your weekend and Happy first day of Spring!Fifi

Nico: I just entered a Google search "how to create tabs on blogger" and I lended on a bunch of different sites giving all sorts of different templates and advice. I did grab different codes and tweaked them together. Since I am far from computer savvy I admit I am quite unable to retrace my steps!

Macaron day?! That is absolutely brilliant. I love the idea. Too bad everyday isn't macaron day (although if I were living next door to you, I bet it could be!). Do I even need to tell you how beautiful these creations are? Probably not, but I will. Everything looks so springy and lovely. You are a maestra! *and hugs to the pups and people in the house*

You probably don't have time to respond. Your macarons are amazing... I tried 2 other recipes before trying yours (from Desserts Mag online) and yours is by far the best. Unfortunately I am having trouble piping perfectly round and same-sized shells (I've still got to go out and buy a piping bag as I'm using plastic food bags right now). I also wanted to try fruit flavoured macarons and used liquid food colouring which changed the consistency too much :)

I have been a silent lurker but I will now come out clean - I love everything about your blog! Ohmy! And the macaron recipe surely came at the right time - I was just looking for a good, easy and simple macaron recipe for a first time macaron maker like me. Thanks heaps!

I think I am going to pass out with the perfection of these macarons...not just the pictures, which are beauteous, but the flavour, I love floral flavoured everything, is there really such a thing as violet flavoured liqueur? Brava once again and thank you. I will dream of these tonight!!

Hi Tartelette, I love your blog. Really love these macarons. I'm currently testing out a few different recipes and techniques. I wanted to make some lavender flavoured macarons as my next version. What other flavours would you recommend that would pair well with lavender? THANKS!

Hi there,I wonder if you can help. After reading all the fabulous stories about macarons I decided to try making them using your recipe. They looked pretty perfect sitting on the baking trays...but once I put them in the oven they all fell flat and became very thin biscuits instead. What do you think I could be doing wrong? Are my almonds too coarsely ground? Is my oven temperature too high/low? its probably too hard for you to answer this since you seem to make pretty perfect macarons....but perhaps someone else out there has had a similar failure and managed to find the solution? I would love to be able to make them so any advice would be most appreciated. Thanks.

Allison: you could have your oven calibrated to make sure it is at the right temperature but it sounds to me like you overbeat the batter a tad bit too much. They are finicky and there is this little tiny weeny threshold where the air is beaten out too much. Hope this helps.

Thanks Helen - I think you are right about the overbeating. I tried them again on the weekend - with success I am pleased to say. (Never thought the sight of little 'feet' developing could get me so happy!). This time I beat the egg whites a lot less - until they only just held shape. I ground the almonds a lot finer. I put in 50gm less sugar, not sure what difference that made other than to the taste (I tend to reduce the sugar content with most American recipes - don't be offended, I know you are not really American). The batter was a really different consistency this time. I had the oven lower and baked them for longer. They came out looking beautiful...not as gorgeous as yours ofcourse! But enough to make me feel rather pleased with myself!

Alliaon: I am not offended, I am 100% French so most of my testers mention that my recipes are a lot less sweet than expected. The only execption to the rules are for macarons. They are very sweet, which is why French people tend to eat them one at a time, unlike most American cookies.I think we had a confusion over the beating. The egg whites need to be stiff. I meant the folding of the egg whites into the almond mixture. That part can be overfolded rapidly too much which results in uneven macarons. Either no feet, or hollow, or uneven or cracked.Reducing the amount of powdered sugar by 50gr is not much so you still had plenty of structure to work with. It might differ on different days as macarons tend to be very affected by heat and humidity.Happy to hear you are happy!

oo helen--i didn't know that about macaron day! and i love these violet macarons here! do you have any ideas for me about making cherry blossom macarons? hmmm...i was thinking to do it for my easter/passover cherry blossom festival dinner coming soon!

Hi, Helen. First of all, once again I must thank you for all the great recipes your share with us.

And now... I tried macarons for the first time!!! But it was a complete disaster. The first batch looked perfect in the owen (I was so happy), but when I took them out, they collapsed ( :-((( ). The second time, I wanted to avoid this and the macarons seemed to be burnt and "empty".

I supose the key is the time you let the surface to harden before you put the macarons in the owen and the second, the right time to get them out.

How do you know these two points? Thank you for your help, all your beatiful photos encoraged me to face this "macaron challenge".

Hi Morgana,It sounds to me like the batter as overfolded just a bit which collapses the feet or creates hollow shells.The time the macarons set out should not interfere with the shells only if you let them sit out longer than 45 minutes.Good luck on your next try!

Hi Elizabeth, I am not sure what you mean by lasting outside. I live in humid and hot SC and I never leave mine outside of the fridge for more than one hour. This one will also get soft if left outside in hot weather. I'd worry if it did not!

Hi Helen, after i added my pink colour in the egg whites, then mix it with the almond n sugar, the colour looks nice, but after i bake it, the colour became very dull. Do i need to add more colour to make it darker before i cook the macaron ? Please help. Tks, elizabeth

Tks for sharing your recipe. I made some macaron using your recipe. Half of it was successful. But i realise some, only got half feet, meaning half side of the macaron got feet, the other half side no feet. Could it be i over stir it ? Of left it not long enough to dry ? Will cutting down on the sugar affect the feet ? Please help.

Hello Tartlette, I made Macarons for the first time after drooling over your place always.Took the recipe from you wonderful place.And it worked out beautifull and I was so happy when i saw how well it came out.Thankyou for the recipe.I have posted them in my placehttp://mykitchentreasures.blogspot.com/2009/06/my-first-ever-macarons.html

Hi Helen, I'm huge fan of yours and l just love your blog. I have a couple of questions regarding Macarons and I hope you'll be able to help me.Almost a year ago I tried to make macarons for the first time in my life and they turned out in to the greatest disaster my kitchen has ever seen. :D :DI'm not quite sure what went wrong but form that moment I have "macaronsfobia". :D :DI think the biggest problem was that I divide beaten egg whites in three different batches and then added food coloring (different color in each one) thus mixed some more. I think I over mixed them. :( My question is do you always use powder coloring? Do you add coloring before egg foam or after? Sorry for the long post and thank you for any help. :)

You can see my disaster here it's all in Croatian but you'll get the idea just by look at the photos! :D

Had baked 2 tray of macaroons but the outcome of macaroon was different. Some cracked and some are baked beautifully with feet. I dont understand why this happen as it come from the same batch of mixture. I use room temperature egg white but i did not separtate it and leave over night. Can advise me on these..

They are absolutely beautiful. Found you while searching for improvements to the recipe in I Love Macarons. I am on my fifth or possibly sixth batch with no success. I just prepared my first batch with your batter receipt, and it is a big improvement except that the foot is spreading a bit more than is desirable. Will try this once again and possible work my batter a bit more.

Thank you for sharing. I read that your recipes were successful after seeing the pics all I can say is WOW!

CathWren:The feet on the macs spreading too much can come from the eggs not being aged long enough.I use only one cookie sheet.Getting the dimensions even comes from practice and years of making I guess.

Thank You Helen, I cannot tell you how appreciative I am for your assistance. I also discovered your article Demystifying Macarons and read that last night. This has shed a great deal of light on technique and the role various things play in the success or failure of the process. You should be writing a book on macarons. I find your instructions very easy to understand and viola success!

Hi!I'm really interested in making my own macarons. I haven't ever made any before, so I wanted to read your article Demystifying Macarons. I clicked on the link, but to read it I have to log in to Desserts Magazine. I don't have an account; is there any was to read it without having to log in?

I just wanted to tell you that after a failed batch of macarons, (not enough almond flour and confectioner's sugar added), I succeeded in making macarons. . .with feet and smooth tops! I'm also writing an article on making macarons, (just for my french class; I'm in the 8th grade), and I will finally be able to tell my French teacher that I know how to make macarons!

Hi Helen,I thought I had mastered your recipes, until I just tried using convection cooking for multiple sheets. At this, I failed miserably! As advice for switching to convection? I promised to do a much of macs for a friends party and thought I could cook more / faster w/ convection. My test batches either exploded from the tops or were lopsided? Any advice would be great! BTW, I also tried convection w/ the IM method, same results!

30 to 40 macarons? I got 10... Which would be 20 halves, but still that is a far cry from 30 or 40. There was some waste in the pastry bag (I am new to this) but also, if I start with 1 1/2 inch wide circles, the baked macarons end up quite big: 2 1/2 in. Is 1 1/2 in wide really the starting point?

What a wonderful blog... I am a sugar artist who makes sugar flowers and have made violets so now i shall eat them.. a friend told me about these macarons and I should try them.. I can' believe how incredible they look.. i wish i could reach in the screen and sample one.. thanks for the recipe and will try it this week.. Violet sounds fantastic. hopefully they will look half as good as these do..

Your macarons so wonderful and pretty!! I love the color and the presentation. I've tried make macarons for many times, mostly was about failure... I have the feet but only half feet... and sometimes crack. I've tried to sit them from around 45 minutes and the result was crack even looked like a mountain eruption. I think it was not dry enough well I tried to sit them around 1 until 2 hours, I had the feet half and some cracks again...I really confuse and frustrated where's the mistake? would you like to help me? or maybe someone else..any advice would be most appreciated. Thank you so much :) Fyi I live in tropical country, maybe the humidity kills the macarons? just curious about this one :)

Hi Helene! I'm Vedika, I'm sixteen- I also have a cooking blog and I LOVE YOUR BLOG! You are such an inspiration. I recently bought your photography cookbook- it's AWESOME! I made these macarons - vanilla flavored for a friend and they were a hit :) Thanks so much! I posted them on my blog: